Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading 1.2% Higher – Here’s Why

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)’s share price rose 1.2% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $706.83 and last traded at $706.15. Approximately 5,431,577 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 15,605,314 shares. The stock had previously closed at $697.46.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on META. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $720.00 to $790.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Meta Platforms to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Benchmark raised Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $820.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $710.83.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.80 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.77, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $621.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $571.15. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.33 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 25.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 8.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $676.00, for a total value of $279,188.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 15,449 shares in the company, valued at $10,443,524. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 12,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $706.72, for a total transaction of $9,169,692.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 172,046 shares in the company, valued at $121,588,349.12. This trade represents a 7.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 700,241 shares of company stock worth $434,752,368. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of META. Seelaus Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $960,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Meredith Wealth Planning raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Meredith Wealth Planning now owns 1,873 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,097,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 317 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $186,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. VeraBank N.A. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. VeraBank N.A. now owns 1,954 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,144,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. Finally, LGL Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. LGL Partners LLC now owns 2,834 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,659,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

About Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms, Inc engages in the development of products that enable people to connect and share with friends and family through mobile devices, personal computers, virtual reality headsets, and wearables worldwide. It operates in two segments, Family of Apps and Reality Labs. The Family of Apps segment offers Facebook, which enables people to share, discuss, discover, and connect with interests; Instagram, a community for sharing photos, videos, and private messages, as well as feed, stories, reels, video, live, and shops; Messenger, a messaging application for people to connect with friends, family, communities, and businesses across platforms and devices through text, audio, and video calls; and WhatsApp, a messaging application that is used by people and businesses to communicate and transact privately.